Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston involved in benches-clearing brawl

By Matthew PouliotMar 26, 2014, 1:15 AM EST
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Jameis Winston, Florida’s State’s Heisman Trophy winning quarterback and reliever on the baseball team, was involved in a benches-clearing brawl in Tuesday night’s game against Florida.

The fight started after Florida’s State’s D.J. Stewart tried to barrel over Florida pitcher Danny Young while running down the first base line. Young was in the line trying to grab Stewart’s squibber and Stewart knocked him over, jarring the ball loose. At that point, Florida first baseman Zack Powers got in Stewart’s face and was shoved in return, which brought everyone out on to the field.

The fight that took place afterwards lasted only a minute and involved a lot more shoving and grabbing than any punching. Winston was caught right in the middle of it, but it’s unclear if he threw any punches.

Chad Brinker captured the incident in a Youtube video:

And jaxdotcom got a good snap of Winston in the middle of the scrum:

The Gators went on to win the game over the top-ranked Seminoles, 4-1.

Winston has made eight relief appearances this season, allowing one run and striking out 13 in 13 innings. He’s also gone 4-for-19 with a double and two RBI in sporadic outfield duty.

Rakuten Golden Eagles sign Jabari Blash

Jabari Blash
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By Ashley VarelaDec 15, 2018, 7:45 PM EST
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Former Angels outfielder Jabari Blash has signed a one-year deal with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball, the team announced Friday. Per the Japan Times, the deal is said to be worth around $1.06 million. Blash was released from his contract with the Angels at the end of November.

The 29-year-old outfielder has had a rough go of it in the majors, where he failed to duplicate the promising results he delivered in the minors. While he consistently batted above .250 with 20-30 home runs per season at the Double- and Triple-A level, he petered out in back-to-back gigs with the Padres and Angels and slumped toward a .103/.200/.128 finish across 45 PA for Anaheim in 2018.

The hope, of course, is that the environment in NPB will help him get a better handle on his issues at the plate — in a best case scenario, resulting in a full-scale transformation that could make him more marketable to MLB teams in the future. To that end, Blash expects to be utilized as a cleanup batter in the Eagles’ lineup and will focus on assisting the club as they make a run toward the Japan Series.